Like That
by forgotten-serenity
Summary: Alex finds herself in a destructive situation. Olivia tries to help. AO.
1. Chapter 1

This is definitely more angsty than most things I write. It's inspired by the song 'I Can Love You Like That' by John Michael Montgomery or All-4-One. I'm not sure who made it first. Anyway, I hope you like it.

* * *

Olivia knocked on the door to Alex's office. She kept telling herself that she was here because she need to go over a case with Alex, but they could have done that over the phone. Olivia came because she wanted to see Alex. The ADA hadn't been coming around the precinct very often for the past month and Olivia missed her. Of course she'd never tell Alex that.

"C'min," Alex sighed.

Olivia heard the tiredness in Alex's voice as she opened the door. She saw that Alex was leaning heavily on her desk and her eyes looked like she hadn't slept for days.

"Are you okay?" Olivia asked, genuinely concerned.

Alex couldn't even force a smile, "Yeah, I'm fine."

Olivia smiled gently trying to incite one from Alex, "Somehow I don't believe you."

The detective's attempt worked and Alex let out a small smile. "Somehow you're right." Alex gestured to the chair in front of her.

Olivia sat down in the chair and studied Alex. Alex's eyes were not just tired, they were sad. Olivia's heart ached for Alex, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Um…" Alex paused, "Not right now."

Olivia nodded. She really wanted to know what was hurting Alex and find out a way to fix it. She'd never admit it if anyone asked, but she'd realize a long time ago that she cared for the blonde ADA, more than co-workers and more than friends. "How about after we go over the case, we go to dinner?"

Alex looked questioningly at the brunette sitting in front of her.

"I'm not going to try to interrogate you into telling me what's wrong," Olivia added, "It's just dinner."

Alex smiled fully, "Okay."

They finished going over the case an hour later and made their way to a restaurant down the street. They shared a small booth close to the bar.

They ordered then sat silently. Alex was looking thoughtfully at her hands. She took a deep breath and looked at Olivia, "Can I ask you for some advice?"

"What kind of advice?" Olivia asked with a smile.

"Relationship advice," Alex replied looking back down at her hands.

Olivia chuckled, "I might not be the best person to ask, but I'll try my best."

Alex let a brief smile cross her lips before it faded away, "How do you know if you should stay in a relationship?"

"Can you be more specific?" Olivia asked.

"I've been dating Charlie for a while," Alex added, not able to look at Olivia, "And we've been having problems."

"What kind of problems?" Olivia urged her on. She was definitely disappointed that Alex was seeing someone.

Alex shrugged, "Charlie…gets really jealous sometimes. And I don't think I've done anything to deserve it."

"Like possessive jealous?" Olivia asked, carefully. She'd heard this countless times from victims and never thought she'd hear their tough-as-nails ADA confess anything like this.

Alex took a deep breath and nodded.

"Has Charlie ever done anything…physical to you?" Olivia asked.

"No," Alex answered quickly, "Charlie would never do that. It's just…Charlie makes me feel guilty sometimes." Alex paused, "If someone came up to me and told them this, I wouldn't think twice about telling them to move on, but Charlie's so…sometimes Charlie's so sweet and so caring."

"Do you love Charlie?" Olivia asked, dreading the answer.

Alex met Olivia's eyes. They were unsure and questioning, "I could." Suddenly, Alex's eyes filled with tears and she tried desperately to blink them back.

Olivia flagged down their waiter and had him make their orders to go. Once they had their food, Olivia put her arm around Alex who was shivering trying to keep the tears in. Olivia drove Alex to back to her own apartment because Alex wasn't really talking anymore.

Olivia ushered Alex upstairs and set her on the couch, while she put the food away. When she returned, Alex was staring at the coffee table with a tear streaked face.

At that moment, Olivia wanted to find this Charlie person and personally beat the shit out of him. Her heart broke for Alex. She sat on the couch next to Alex and wrapped her arms around the sobbing blonde.

"I'm sorry," Alex whispered with her head on Olivia's shoulder.

"Don't be," Olivia replied stroking her hair, "It's not your fault."

Alex took a deep breath trying to quell the tears. She shook her head and pulled out of Olivia's embrace, "I-I can't…I have to go." Alex stood and made her way to the door.

"Alex," Olivia stood, "Wait. Let's just talk about this."

Alex paused at the door. "Charlie's going to be mad."

Olivia tentatively took Alex's hand, "Why?"

"Because I'm here," Alex replied, "With you."

Olivia was confused, but backed Alex to the couch and sat her back down, "Why?"

"Because Charlie gets jealous," Alex's eyes filled with tears, "And yells and throws things. Then says 'I'm so sorry. I'll never do it again.'"

Olivia held Alex close again, "Is it worth it?"

Alex started to sob again, "What am I going to do?"

"It's up to you," Olivia soothed her, "But there are so many other people who would consider themselves lucky to have you and who would trust you." Olivia knew that when she said 'so many other people' she was talking about herself, but now was not the time to confess her feelings for the young ADA.

"Can I," Alex paused, "Can I…stay with you tonight?"

"Of course sweetheart," Olivia replied.

Alex sniffed and wiped her eyes. She pulled away from Olivia and looked into her eyes, "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to ruin dinner."

"You didn't ruin it," Olivia smiled, "It's still in the refrigerator." Olivia patted Alex's leg and stood up, "I'll go get it."

After they sat on the couch eating for a while, Alex spoke, "Thank you so much."

"Anytime," Olivia replied with a kind smile.


	2. Chapter 2

Alex's phone rang as they were cleaning up the dinner mess. Alex dug through her purse and grabbed her phone.

"Cabot," Alex answered. Her face drained of color and she took a deep breath. Olivia noticed and watched Alex. "I…I'm not…Can I please say something?…no…Charlie, I wouldn't…" Then Alex looked at her phone and closed it.

Alex was looking down and Olivia dipped her head down to catch Alex's eyes, "Are you okay?"

Alex took a deep breath and nodded.

Olivia enveloped Alex in her arms and stroked Alex's hair, "You know what? I think ice cream is in order."

Alex nodded into Olivia's shoulder and pulled away.

"Before we get ice cream, can I ask you a huge favor?" Alex asked.

"Of course," Olivia said walking with Alex to the door.

"I want to go end it with Charlie," Alex replied, "And get my stuff back. Will you come with me?"

Olivia nodded, "Of course."

They put their jacket on and Olivia instructed Alex how to get to Charlie's apartment. When they were outside, Alex looked up at the building for a moment before looking over at Olivia, "Um…will you come up with me? You don't have to come inside. I just…would feel safer if you stood in the hallway?"

Olivia picked up Alex's hand and reassuringly squeezed it, "I'll do anything you need me to."

The inside of the building was very nice and elegantly done. Apparently Charlie had some money.

They got into the elevator and Alex closed her eyes and took deep breaths.

Olivia reached up and rubbed her shoulder, "Are you going to be okay?"

Alex nodded, "I just want to get this over with."

When the doors open, Alex confidently led the way out and knocked on the closest apartment to the elevator.

The door swung open and there stood a tall woman with long brown hair. Her skin was the kind of tan you get from laying on the beach for days. Her jeans were tight as was her shirt. She was definitely attractive.

"Who the hell is this?" she asked.

"This is Olivia," Alex replied, "She's a friend. She came to help me get my stuff."

"Get your stuff?" the woman raised her eyebrows.

"Yeah," Alex brushed past her and walked out of sight.

The woman sized up Olivia.

It finally clicked with Olivia, "You're Charlie?"

The woman nodded and crossed her arms. Charlie huffed and walked to where Alex walked off to. Olivia stepped in, but stuck close to the door. This wasn't her business. She was just there to make sure Alex was okay.

"What the hell are you doing?" Alex asked as Charlie started throwing Alex's stuff into the corner, a few things breaking.

Olivia rushed to the back. Charlie stopped throwing things when Olivia appeared.

"Get the hell out of my apartment!" Charlie yelled at Olivia.

Olivia looked at her, "I'm just here to make sure Alex is okay and stays that way. This will go a lot fast if you come into the living room with me."  
Charlie followed Olivia to the living room and muttered, "That bitch better not take any of my shit."

Olivia whirled on Charlie, "How _dare_ you talk about Alex like that. She is one of the most kind-hearted women I've ever met. She's sweet and brilliant and here you are treating her like shit." Olivia was completely disgusted with Charlie at this point and didn't hold any punches. "You can't just yell and throw shit and expect her to stay with you. She is a wonderful woman and you don't deserve any part of her."

Charlie crossed her arms, "You're in love with her aren't you?"

Olivia wasn't really thinking and answered quickly, "Yes, but I'm not going to tell her that because I _do_ care about her and she doesn't need any more shit to deal with."

"How can you say I don't care?!" Charlie yelled, "You're don't fucking know me!"

"I've been here for two minutes and I already know that you don't deserve anyone, especially Alex!" Olivia let her temper get the best of her and yelled at the woman in front of her.

Alex could hear the entire conversation from Charlie's closet where she was getting the rest of her clothes. She was so touched that Olivia was defending her like that and was stunned when Olivia admitted that she was in love with her. It was definitely not something she expected. She wasn't really sure how she wanted to handle it at this point, but decided that it was best to contemplate the situation with Olivia somewhere were her now ex was living.

Alex threw her clothes in an empty box and walked to the living room where Olivia was just waiting for Charlie to swing at her so she could take her down hard.

"C'mon Liv," Alex stated and went for the door.

A hand on her wrist stopped her, "Alex, stay please." Charlie was starting to plead.

"Let go," Alex glared at Charlie.

Charlie wouldn't let go, "Let's just talk about this baby."

"Go to hell," Alex tried to yank her hand away, but Charlie's grip was tight.

Olivia took a step closer to Charlie and warned her, "Let. Go." By now Olivia was seething. One false move and Charlie would be on the ground in handcuffs within seconds.

Charlie raised her hand. Olivia wasn't sure who the swing was intended for, but she was going to make sure it never landed. Olivia tackled Charlie to the ground and had her on her stomach with her hands behind her back in no time flat.

Olivia twisted Charlie's arm higher until the woman whimpered, "If I ever catch you anywhere near Alex again, you will be arrested. Understand?"

Charlie gritted her teeth and nodded.

Olivia pushed off of Charlie and walked out the door with Alex behind her.

When they were in the car both were silent waiting for the other to speak.

"Thank you so much," Alex said quietly, "For everything you did and said."

Olivia gulped, "How much did you hear?"

Alex held Olivia's eyes, "Everything."

"Look, I…I don't want you to feel pressure to do anything with what I said," Olivia quickly added, "I'm perfectly happy being your friend. And after that nut job you probably need all the time you can get. So don't even think about it. In fact, forget you ever heard me say it."

Alex chuckled and took Olivia's hand, trying to stop her from babbling, "It's okay. I'm completely flattered and you're right, I do need some time to contemplate my unexplored feelings for you."

Olivia's eyebrows furrowed.

"So, ice cream?" Alex smiled.

Olivia smiled back and nodded.

They walked into an ice cream shop together, got their ice cream, and sat at a table for two near the front of the shop. Music floated through the speakers of a small radio on the counter.

Olivia couldn't have picked a more appropriate song for how she felt about Alex.

_They read you Cinderella  
You hoped it would come true  
That one day your prince charming  
Would come rescue you,  
You like romantic movies  
You never will forget  
The way you felt when Romeo kissed Juliet  
All this time that you've been waiting  
You don't have to wait no more_

Alex smiled at the amazing woman across the small table across from her. She couldn't think of anyone with a bigger heart than Olivia and it warmed Alex's entire body to know that she had a place in that heart. Olivia was definitely her Prince(ss) Charming. Her knight in shining armor.

I can love you like that  
I would make you my world  
Move heaven and earth if you were my girl  
I will give you my heart  
Be all that you need  
Show you you're everything that's precious to me  
If you give me a chance  
I can love you like that 

It was safe for Alex to say that she did have feeling for Olivia that went beyond the realm of friendship, but she didn't want to say anything too soon at the risk of sounding insincere and on the rebound.

I never make a promise I don't intend to keep  
So when I say forever, forever's what I mean  
I'm no Casanova but I swear this much is true  
I'll be holding nothin' back when it comes to you,  
You dream of love that's everlasting  
Well baby open up your eyes  


Olivia was trying desperately to figure out what Alex was thinking about. She knew that if Alex let her, she'd hold nothing back. Alex was the first person that she trusted enough to give her heart to. After everything they'd been through together in the past few hours, she was amazed at how much more in love she'd fallen for the ADA in front of her. She knew she'd do anything for Alex.

_  
I can love you like that_


	3. Chapter 3

When they got back to Olivia's apartment, Alex sat on the couch and laid her head back, "Do you feel like watching a movie or do you want to go to bed?"

"A movie sounds good," Olivia smiled and went to the DVD player. She popped in a movie and sat next to Alex.

The movie was playing on the TV, but neither woman was watching. They were both contemplating their next move and exactly how close they were to each other.

Alex carefully laid her head on Olivia's shoulder and was rewarded by Olivia's arm around sliding across her back to hold her there. She smiled and was finally comfortable.

Olivia absentmindedly started stroking Alex's side with her thumb. The small action caused Alex's breath to hitch and quicken. Olivia hadn't really noticed.

Alex tried to focus on the movie and finally realized what they were watching. She started laughing.

"What?" Olivia asked, looking down at her.

Alex smiled and pulled away a little to look at Olivia's face, "You watch cop movies?"

"Dirty Harry is a classic," Olivia smirked, "And you can't tell me you don't own any lawyer movies."

"I never said I didn't," Alex replied with a flirtatious smile.

"I bet you have Legally Blonde," Olivia raised an eyebrow.

Alex giggled, "One and Two."

Olivia laughed.

Alex laid her head back on Olivia's shoulder, "Thanks again for tonight."

"It was no problem," Olivia added.

As the end credits rolled, Alex yawned.

"You should go to bed," Olivia rubbed Alex's back.

"You're on my bed," Alex replied.

Olivia shook her head, "You're not sleeping on the couch. You're sleeping on my bed. _I'm_ sleeping on the couch."

Alex sat up and looked at Olivia, "I'm not going to displace you."

"I'm not being displaced," Olivia smiled.

"You're damn right cause you're sleeping in your bed and I'm sleeping on the couch," Alex retorted.

Olivia rolled her eyes, "Do I have to carry you to the bed?"

Alex raised an eyebrow and smirked, "I don't think you can."

Olivia took that as a direct challenge and swiftly scooped Alex up, cradling her and walking off toward the bedroom.

The blonde smiled as Olivia set her on the bed and stood next to her. "Good night."

Alex slid off of the bed before Olivia got to the door, "Liv, wait."

Just as Olivia turned around, she found Alex's lips pressed against her own.

_Every kiss before this  
Was nothing but a waste of breath  
And every I love you was just a whoop-de-doo  
Never knew what I missed before this_

Alex hands rested on Olivia's hips, her thumbs stroking the small amount of exposed skin from the detective's shirt riding up.

_And every love song before you came along  
Was always about someone else  
Oh, and every star was just a wish too far  
Always a realist, yeah, before this_

Olivia was taken by surprised, but soon realized what was going on. One of her hands found it's way into Alex's hair while they other caressed the soft skin of Alex's neck.

_And the way things go, you never know  
Where love will lead you to  
And everything we've ever dreamed  
Lies before me and you_

People say, it's not everyday  
That you find the perfect fit  
But when I fell for you, I found the other shoe  
Cupid was a myth before this

Alex could feel herself falling and she wasn't about to fight it. How could she not have seen Olivia right in front of her all this time? Her heart raced and butterflies materialized in her stomach. She was in love with Olivia Benson. Alex had never been one to fall hard and fast, but here she was falling hard and fast. Had Charlie not been in her life this probably would have happened a lot sooner, but she was just happy that she had Olivia now.

Alex's tongue ran across Olivia's lips begging for entrance. Olivia was more than willing to allow it and relished in the feeling of Alex's tongue in her mouth. Olivia was completely lost in the kiss. No one had ever kissed her with such passion before.

The ADA slid her arms all the way around Olivia's waist, pulling their bodies flush together. The contact was electrifying. They both felt their bodies heat up at the full contact.

The pace of the kiss slow and they both pulled away at the same time, both smiling from ear to ear. This was definitely the start of something beautiful.


End file.
